Trina’s First Recycled Silicon Solar Module

Trina Solar, a leading Chinese solar manufacturer, has made a groundbreaking announcement this week by successfully producing the world’s first fully recycled crystalline silicon (c-Si) module. Despite being recycled, the module maintains an impressive efficiency of 20.7 per cent and a power output exceeding 645W.

This significant achievement was realised by Trina Solar’s Central Research Institute, utilising their proprietary recycling technology to recover materials from waste modules, including silicon, silver, aluminium frames, and glass.

Collaborative Efforts and Innovative Technologies

Trina Solar collaborated with its upstream and downstream partners to complete the production of these recycled PV modules, further reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainability and recycling initiatives. The process involves dismantling discarded solar PV modules and recycling broken silicon wafers, employing various techniques to ensure the performance of the new silicon wafers closely matches that of the original ones.

The company utilises self-developed interlayer separation reagents, chemical etching technology, wet chemical silver extraction technology, and other innovative methods to achieve this goal. Additionally, glass and aluminium frames are recycled from old modules and reformed through a secondary melting process.

Technological Advancements and Environmental Responsibility

By partnering with suppliers across the supply chain, Trina Solar also recovers silver powder from discarded solar PV modules, which is then used to prepare the front fine grid slurry. The recycled PV module incorporates n-type TOPCon technology, boasting an impressive module efficiency of 20.7 per cent and a power output exceeding 645W.

Gao Jifan, the chairman and CEO of Trina Solar and president of the Central Research Institute, emphasised that the production of the world’s first fully recycled photovoltaic module aligns with the company’s commitment to promoting a circular economy. Trina Solar has demonstrated its dedication to sustainability by applying for 37 patents related to module recycling, with 11 of them already authorised and published as invention patents.

This milestone not only showcases Trina Solar’s technological advancements but also underscores its environmental responsibility in driving innovation towards a more sustainable future.